Oh, Mama, I've been years on the lam

[returncoat]

Who: Alvin, currently wide open with closed starters available on request
What: A catch-all log for the whole month April, now including (1) wandering through the moonlit fog and (2) adventures beyond the Blessed Are the Curious ▲-marked (age-down/fix-it) arch; more to come as events develop
When: April 1st-30th
Where: Trench and the Trenchwoods (and the worlds beyond the arches)

Content Warnings: Threat of gun violence/child wielding a gun in II-C; will warn for other content in subject headers as they come up


I. TRENCH

I-A. (Put an end to my running) (Open)

[Alvin wouldn't think much about the first few days of constant darkness--hey, it's foggy, some places are just like this in spring--were it not for the moon. As he patrols the streets of Crenshaw and Willful Machine, fulfilling his current duties as a Hunter during what should, by all measures, be daylight, he drinks in the moon's soft, green glow. In a way, it almost feels almost like home.

Almost. Until something barrels through the fog, making it roil and rise between the buildings and exposing the pure moonlight in patches. Tensing, Alvin grabs the hilt of his sword, but whatever gusted through the streets makes no further appearance.

He relaxes, then stiffens as he hears a new set of footsteps. When it's just another resident of the city, he sighs and holds his left hand to stretch it, keeping it loose and limber in the sunless chill.]

Hey there. Sure is some weather we're having. [Alvin nods at the still-settling fog.] You didn't happen to get a look at whatever that was, did you?



II. BLESSED ARE THE CURIOUS (▲)

II-A. (I'm so far from my home) (Open)

['Also, I don't want to look after Leticia anymore. And I want you to tell Exodus to leave me alone.'

Alvin's expression as he stares at the woman speaking to him is flat and impenetrable. They stand outside an apartment in a cliffside city, bustling and decorated as if for a parade, but that celebratory air doesn't reach this landing. Another small knot of people linger nearby, just far enough to act like they aren't listening.

Without breaking eye contact with the woman, Alvin rubs the back of his head, his gaze still less giving than the smooth surface of a stone. Then he shrugs.]

Yeah, all right. Guess I can finally let you off the hook, doc.

[The woman blinks rapidly, shifting onto her back foot. 'W-what?' The others standing around look surprised, too, especially when Alvin turns towards them.]

What? It's not like I can trust Exodus to look after dear old Mommy and me, after what happened here and in Labari Hollow. [He levels a narrowed, dispassionate look at the doctor.] And it's not like I can trust her, either. Not when she so clearly wants out. Who knows what a woman like her could do, left to her own devices?

[He says it staring straight at her, knowing exactly what she could do, left to her own devices. Then he looks at the rest of his party and shrugs again.]

Besides, you're practically a doctor, aren't you, Jude? [The eyes of a diffident, dark-haired boy among them widen even further.] I think I'd rather rely on the honor of an honors student than on someone like Isla. If I steal some of the medicine my mother needs from Exodus, do you think you could study it and work out a treatment for her?

[At this point, reality must sink in for Isla, because she covers her mouth and starts to weep. Alvin ignores her to answer some questions for Jude, who visibly grows more excited about the idea of helping someone. Isla runs off, and the other party members gradually gravitate towards Jude, finally giving Alvin a moment to slip away and rejoin whoever's joined him on this journey.]

...Whoo-ee. That's two or three things off my conscience right there.

[He looks a little lighter, maybe even a little younger. He offers a wryly self-conscious half-smile, linking his hands behind his head.]

So, where to? Pretty sure this makes it your turn. Got something in mind to do next?

((This is the prompt to choose if you want to take Alvin along on your character's fix-it adventure! The age-down effect can happen at whatever pace we like or we don't have to play with it at all.))


II-B. (Oh, Mama, I can hear you a-cryin') (Open)

[By the time Alvin returns to his mother's cliffside apartment, he's a teenager at best, perhaps even younger. He lets himself in, runs a hand back through his even now purposefully-tousled hair, and comes to stand at the bedridden woman's side.]

...Hey, Leticia. I'm back.

[Alvin's mother slowly blinks her eyes open, slowly tracks the sound of Alvin's voice. Slowly, softly, like sunlight edging the outline of once-endless cloud, Leticia finds her smile.

'Alfred.'

Alvin's eyes shoot wide open.

'My dear, dear boy. You've gotten so tall since I saw you last... But do you really think you're so grown up, you have to call your own mother by name?'

He opens his mouth, but none of his questions come out. Instead, a lump settles in his throat so huge and heavy, it drives him onto his knees, suddenly wobbly in the face of her recognition. Alvin searches for her hand beneath the blankets, clings to it with his younger, smaller hand. He draws a wet breath that threatens tears.]

Mom.

[Leticia lets him hold her hand and frees the other so she can stroke her son's brown, just-too-long hair.

'My boy. I missed you, too.'

And she just continues to hold him there, not really noticing in her hazy contentment how he continues to shrink.]


II-C. (You're so scared and all alone) (Open; CW: threat of gun violence, child wielding a gun)

[A child tears through the grandiose decks of a cruise ship, dodging the other well-heeled passengers on his way to the bridge.]

Stop this ship! We have to turn it around!

[He's chased by two young men: one is clearly his father, almost the spitting image of the Alvin people might know in Deer Country, and the other's in his mid-teens. The first finally catches him--literally--locking arms around his little chest and scooping him up into the air. The boy pushes and kicks to little effect.]

No! Let me go!

['Alfred, for goodness's sake, what's gotten into you?'

With a sudden, savage little twist, six- or seven-year-old Alvin jabs his elbow into his father's ribs, grabs at something as he's dropped, and then comes up holding a golden gun. Moving with a fluid expertise no child should have, he loads the gun and raises it, shaking only slightly in his two tiny hands, at his pursuers.]

We have. To go. Back. [He heaves big, gulping breaths and shouts,] Don't you get it? I'm trying to save you!

[Alvin's fear somehow makes the truth tangible: the return arch, the portal back to Deer Country as they know it, lies directly ahead on the airship's path. His fear makes it equally obvious that he does not want to go.]




((Got an idea outside these prompts? Hit me up at asherdashery or on Discord at asherdashery#5061. Happy to write you a starter or for you to comment to this post with a starter of your own!))

Comments

II-C

[violetlies]

[Kokichi probably should've known that following his housemate into a mysterious arch was a bad idea, but something that could be said for both of them is that 'that's a bad idea' seemed to result in what amounted to 'We know, and we're doing it anyway.' Where he's ended up, however, is wholly unfamiliar. An airship. It's like something out of an anime - something Kokichi imagined that were he still putting on the whole evil leader persona to its fullest extent, he would've requested an entire fleet of.

He adjusts the black cap still placed atop his head. Given that he didn't recognize this, perhaps Alvin did. That was most likely, unless it spat them out both onto unknown territory. But, as far as he could tell, Alvin wasn't around. His expression flatlined, glancing around for any idea of where he might be--

And then he hears the voice of a child. A frightened one, too. Immediately, his leader instincts get the better of him, and his attention snaps over in that direction, only to see that the child was being chased by two men. One of them looked unfamiliar, but the other--

He scanned his eyes quickly. No. That wasn't Alvin, even if it looked like him. There were differences here and there, so the best guess he could rationalize is that this is a subconscious manifestation of something or other. Whatever it is, it's related to Alvin. He catches a name. Alfred, that's the child.

Alfred elbows his father in the ribs, and he picks up a golden gun. How he holds it is striking - it's not shaky, it's a pretty fluid pick-up as if he's had to do it before. That's immediately setting off several alarm bells in Kokichi's mind.

"We have. To go. Back. Don't you get it? I'm trying to save you!"

Don't you get it? I'm trying to save you! Kokichi has to refrain from bristling as he watches. Those two sentences in particular strike an uncomfortable chord with him. He averts his eyes for the slightest of moments, and he glances forward- that's a portal. A portal directly ahead.

Either that's genuinely a threat, or that's their way out. Kokichi can't be certain as to which it is, but given how Deer Country tended to make things as difficult as possible whenever it could, he'd assume it's the latter. He swore under his breath.

That meant he had to step in, because obviously this had something to do with Alvin, which means he'd have to be the one talking him down this time.

He walked over, intent behind his expression.]

Hey.

[He speaks up, and now the attention is on him.]

Why don't we talk about this first? No shooting. No sudden movements. We've still got time to make this decision. If you're saving us, it might help to know what you think is going on.

[returncoat]

[When Kokichi breaks into the stand-off, the barrel of the handgun dips slightly. A flash of surprise and recognition pass over the little boy's face, followed by an uneasy, guilty expression, like he's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar--or setting a bad example for the younger kids. Tsk, tsk. Alvin--Alfred--swallows it down and chooses not to give himself away any further by naming his housemate. Instead, he meets each person who's come to stare at him with a square, determined gaze.

A voice crackles over the ship's speakers. 'Hello. This is your captain speaking. We're seeing some clouds ahead of us, and while we don't expect more than mild turbulence, we encourage all E.S.S. Zenethra passengers to leave the upper decks and return to their cabins. Your comfort and safety are our top priority. Thank you.'

Up here on the topmost deck, exposed to the whole of the sky, the wind begins to rise, tugging only gently still at perfectly styled hair and coattails.

Alvin's voice is as low as a scared child's can be and still be heard.]

I know what's going on. What's going to happen to everyone on this ship.

[The boy takes a deep breath to steady himself and continues:]

If we don't turn around, we're gonna crash. Onto another world. Most of you die-- [He says this looking directly up at his father.] --and the rest of us... we have to live there, with nothing, hunted by things we can't even see. You leave me and mother to survive that alone--worse than alone!

[He aims that at the teenager beside his father, venomous in his vehemence. Rather than elaborate, though, Alvin looks at Kokichi again. The gun is shaking, now, a little.]

It doesn't have to happen like this. You get it, right? If I can fix it here, none of it has to happen. I just have to get them to go home.

[violetlies]

[The kid looks surprised - surprised looking at him, because there's a glimmer of recognition there. Then he looks guilty. Kokichi's expression doesn't waver, but he understands now, better, in the back of his head - so the kid knows who I am. So that is most likely his housemate.

The kid speaks with confidence, saying that he knows what's going on, he knows they're going to crash and die, there's some kind of vengefulness at that teenager...and he can change all of that.]

And how do you know all this? Is it because it's happened before?

[The exactness of Kokichi's tone is hard to ignore. This is a situation of someone lying to themselves, more than anything, or at least that's what he can figure. And as a master liar...he hates when people lie to themselves the most. It won't ever help them. It won't ever solve anything. It's just a delusion, and it's harmful, and it only leads to bigger spirals.

He's not the absolute best person to handle a scenario like this. He's not Shuichi, or anything, who'd probably be able to gently present some kind of convincing argument on the spot that solved every problem. He's not Kaito, who would go in do-or-die and take the most direct route of just taking that gun and delivering some kind of motivating something-or-other that would probably be equally as infuriating as it is endearing in a weird way in Kokichi's mind.

He's Kokichi. Someone who is known for being a liar, and not the easiest to get along with, and not someone to mince words when a situation is dire.]

No matter what you do, you can't 'fix' things that have already happened. That's not how life works. It does, in fact, have to happen like this, or I wouldn't be standing here right now delivering any kind of argument at all. You know that, even if you don't want to.

[He doesn't expect this to go over well. At all. It's not going to be that easy, he can imagine.]

And that's the truth.

[returncoat]

You don't know that!

[To his shame and horror, he notices tears pricking his eyes. Damn it, he was a crybaby at this age, but he can't deal with it now, not when everyone's lives--his dad's, Alvin's own life and his mother's, every soul aboard this ship--hangs on his determination, his ability, to change the outcome of this trip. He sniffs loudly and otherwise shoves the emotion down.]

You don't know how it works here. You haven't been here any longer than I have! This should already be impossible, but we're here anyway!

[He tries to spread his arms wide, encompassing this entire scene from his past, but the gun in his hand is too heavy, heavier than it was before. Alvin fumbles to support it with both hands again and somehow manages.

He's smaller than before. Even younger. The teenager Alvin glared at seems as consternated as before, but Alvin's father notices. His eyebrows draw low with new concern even as he holds an arm out to keep the teen back. Alvin gives his head a fierce shake.]

Howe's Egg Principle! If it isn't impossible, it doesn't have to be eliminated, right? So what's wrong with trying?!

[Amidst all this, Alvin's father takes one step forward, ignoring the gun--his own gun--as Alvin resumes pointing it at his chest. All business, stern with worry, he addresses Kokichi directly.

'Young man. Do you know what is happening to my son?']

[violetlies]

[He made the kid cry. Usually, that might make him buckle a little, seeing as he's usually the one to jump to the protection of any kid in need, but when he's so thoroughly convinced that that kid is his housemate, he can't buckle now. Not when this is vitally important to work past.

Not when this is him lying to himself.]

For one, the thing wrong with trying is you're literally shrinking!

[And so is he, albeit at a slower rate. Kokichi's attention is drawn to Alvin's father next - he outright questions him. He has to wonder if it'll make any difference answering, since this is all a world of lies, but he's compelled to anyway.]

Yes, sir. I do. ...He's trying to avert a fate that is unavoidable, and he's only going to hurt himself doing it. He's...denying a part of himself. For the safety of everyone else. That never ends well. He's hurting himself with lies to keep bad things from happening, which will just lead to worse things unless he recognizes what he's doing.

[He bites his lip, then lets out a shaky sigh.]

Which is not something I want to see happen to my closest friend around these parts. Not when he's been strong enough to help me before when I needed it most.

[returncoat]

[Kokichi's explanation of the situation ratchets Alvin's resistance tighter and tighter, reflected in his little face screwing up further, turning redder. The kid looks fit either to throw the tantrum of the century or to start shooting until the F-word drops.

'My closest friend' jams in the works like a crowbar between propeller blades, jerking Alvin's desperation to a temporary halt. He blinks wet, over-bright eyes; the gun's muzzle dips slightly.

Alvin's father takes the opportunity to close the distance between himself and his son, drop to one knee, and wrap his hand around the barrel of the gun, keeping Alvin from aiming the muzzle anywhere but directly into his chest. Alvin breathes in sharply and tries to tug the gun back, but his father's grip is solid.

'Gilandor,' he says, addressing the teenager behind him without breaking eye contact with his son. 'Get to the bridge. Tell them to keep exactly on course, no matter what.'

'But--!'

'Go! That is an order from the family head!']

No!

[Alvin shakes his head, tears actually spilling over, but his frantic attempts to pull the pistol away and regain control of the situation backfire. His dad twists his gun up and out of fingers made clumsy by frustration and age reversal, and there goes any leverage he had. Before failure can well up enough to drown in, a large hand lands on Alvin's head and he freezes. Mr. Svent takes the moment to give his only child's hair an affectionate ruffle.

Seized again by desperate hope, Alvin grabs his dad's arm.]

I'll go. I'll--snffh--I'll go back to what's supposed to happen. We'll take a lifeboat through the gate, okay?

[He turns a wide- and red-eyed look on Kokichi. Why wouldn't airships have lifeboats like any waterbound cruise, lashed to the side of craft? Why wouldn't they be able to steer one towards the arch? Please, please let that be enough of a compromise.]

But you land this ship, Dad. Turn it around. Take everyone home--for Mom. Okay? Please.

[Alvin's crying in earnest now.]

Just once, even if it's fake, I want to make it go right.

[Mr. Svent makes an uncertain expression--and why shouldn't he hesitate, this is lightyears outside his experience--but something creaks and the airship begins to change course. Now both he and Alvin look confused, sharing incredibly similar frowns despite Alvin's squishy kindergartener cheeks. Realization hits the father first.

'Gilandor. Damn it, I should have known.'

The teenager ran off to the bridge in all the hubbub, but not with the message his older brother intended him to give. Figures. Mr. Svent hefts Alvin up ("Oof.") and nods Kokichi towards a lifeboat.

'Can I trust you to keep an eye on our Al? Stop him from... growing backwards any further?']

(cw: implied child abuse)

[violetlies]

[...No wonder Alvin's so desperate to try to save his family. He had a good family. Kokichi, for a moment, tries - struggles to remember any good times he's had with his family, and nothing comes up.

There's the faintest - just the faintest - memory that darts across his mind of hiding in a cupboard, tears stinging his eyes making it hard to see, shoving things aside while there was screaming in the background, his head hitting against the top of the cupboard as he tried to squeeze in. He never grew taller like all the other boys. That was a blessing until he made DICE. But it's all...static-y.

Why can't he remember his parents faces?

But he's taken from his own thoughts by the action happening on the ship. Just once, even if it's fake, I want to make it go right. Now he almost feels like crying again. He might, but only when he's secure in the fact that he's alone. Even now, he finds it hard to genuinely cry around people. Crocodile tears, no problem, but genuine...

Still, he refrains. The ship is turning. It's not going how they planned. But he's being directed towards a lifeboat, and the one word sticks out as usual as it does to Kokichi: trust. He coughs, and a couple of tears escape his eyes anyway.]

Of course, sir. [He says that while looking the older man in the eyes, showing he means it before he glances down to the now far, far younger than him Alvin.] C'mon, Alvin. We've gotta go...

[He hops into the lifeboat. This is the best they can do. They'll do it. As long as they can get out of here, get back to Trench...they'll probably both clam up when this is over. Talking about anything involves trust, and that's something they're bad at, but Kokichi's shared some of his past well enough, as inexplicable as it is. Now he knows this.

As long as they can leave and live.]

i

[torpour]

[of all the people to come across... nehan sighs, and shakes his head.]

Likely just moths. [and nehan is inclined to think that, given the unofficial (or official?) king of months is attached to the front of his fluffy green cardigan, the erune supporting the pthumerian with an arm underneath the fuzzy bug body. behind him are two beasts-- one a grey wolf, almost normal except for its sunshine yellow eyes, and something that can only be described as a monster ferret on fire. nehan's entourage is a menagerie of fur.]

You're that tense from seeing fluttering insects around?

[returncoat]

[No way is Alvin going to look jumpier than this guy. He blows out a sigh, too, and puts his hands on his hips.]

I'm not tense, I'm on duty. Keeping our fair city safe from whatever lurks in this... almost literal pea soup. The least I can do is be alert.

[A beat.]

Dude. What is that?

[The wolf makes sense, the... thing on fire is weird, but he's seen (and fought) similar elemental creatures. Alvin's gaze remains firmly trained on the fuzzball in Nehan's arms.]

[torpour]

Are you so new that you know nothing? [well... nehan does know he's new, but he's dedicated to the ruse that they don't actually know each other.

in response to the pointed question, nehan hikes argonian up his chest a little more, causing the bug-god to squeak and tighten his grip on the fabric. argonian is definitely demanding today, and nehan only has the one arm available for him, when the other is clutched around his new-new crutch. steel rather than wood, in a bid of the architect to counteract the sheer amount of punishments that nehan puts his tools through.]

This is Argonaut, the Patron Pthumerian for the month of April. And he's currently attached to someone whose Day is decidedly not in April.

[that last bit is directed right at the pthumerian himself, nehan looking down at the cat-sized moth.]

[returncoat]

...Well, whatever that means, he's cute.

[So, yes, Alvin is certainly that new. He's still been here less than a month, and his general mode of fake-it-till-you-make-it means he tends not to ask useful questions. He grins, much more at Argonaut than at the Nehangerie in general.]

Day or month or what, he obviously likes you. Isn't that right, buddy?

[torpour]

[nehan has to roll his eyes.]

He's been oddly friendly lately. I never saw much of him in the past, and now he refuses to leave. [then he looks back down at argonaut. he scritches the moth on the head, which earns him soft chitters.]

You should go to the big, strong human. He has two arms to carry you with.

[then nehan takes an unsubtle glance up at alvin, before he looks back down.]

Looks like he gets into trouble as well-- he could do with a bit of your healing.

[returncoat]

Hey. I'm perfectly fine, thanks.

[No thanks to Nehan. He's okay now, but damn, the bruising from that punch took a while to fade.]

He's... something like a spirit, right? Little Mr. Bug-Eyes there. [Alvin shrugs and clasps his hands behind his head.] If he is, it'd make sense for him to stick to you over me. You must have more mana, or--whatever they call it here, magic--than my lowly human self can produce. ...Or maybe he's only clinging to you because you're almost as fuzzy as he is.

[Adorbs, if true.]

ii a

[arclightning]

[ It's like Deerington all over again. Hazy doorways to other worlds, the temptation to follow people into their glimmering light. Mako hardly remembers actually doing it, was just out in the woods making sure the safehouses were all banked up against the fog and the night, that they were well-enough lit to mark the way.

He'd followed an unfamiliar shape through the arch in something like a fever dream and now here he is, in a cliffside city he's never seen, watching a man he barely knows sort out the details of his life.

It's nice. A little neat. The kid is so clearly excited to help, so ready to do something good. Mako can't help but wonder what happened here the first time, what thing has shifted to take a weight so very visibly off his companion's shoulders.

He's lost enough in thought, watching Jude and everyone around him, wondering about the lengths people will go to help each other, that he kind of startles when he realizes Alvin's talking to him about him, and looks over with a small frown. ]

I, uh.

[ His throat works. My turn. His turn to try and change something. Will they even...

Worth a shot says a little voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like his brother, and Mako sighs, his mouth twisting. After a moment, he inclines his head. ]

This way. If this is anything like the dream, the people I'm looking for should just... turn up.

[ But even as they move, he can't help but ask: ]

Your mom gonna be okay, after that?

[returncoat]

[Alvin's expression sobers at the question, and he doesn't answer immediately. He walks along without looking at his companion, as quiet as if doing long division in his head, before finally heaving a sigh.]

...Who knows. All I can say is, it's gotta be better than what happened before.

[With that, he finally glances at Mako, blinks, and tilts his head a little.]

You know, I've seen you somewhere before.

[He lifts his eyebrows.]

The Raccoon Room, right?

[arclightning]

[ It's a good thing Mako's more or less used to being recognized. At home it was "hey, you're that pro-bender" or "hey kid" or "oh spirits you're the guy who broke up with the Avatar!"

At least now it's just "oh you're that guy from the Raccoon Room" or "safehouse guy." He prefers that to "guy who broke Korra's heart" or the weird hero-worship that came in the wake of Kuvira's invasion. As tense as Mako is about whatever they are walking toward—about the way the roofs around them are shifting to the sloped ones common in Republic City—it's nice enough that he flashes Alvin a small smile. ]

That's me. My husband's the one who runs it.

[ The word still feels strange on his tongue, still makes him flush a little, but at least he's stopped stumbling over it, stopped feeling like someone is going to appear from the ground and curse at him for its existence. Even so, his cheeks go a quiet blue, and he looks away. ]

You know it's probably not permanent. Whatever you changed.

[returncoat]

[Alvin nods at the husband clarification, no pause in his stride. After another moment of quiet, he laughs, not quite mirthfully.]

Yeah. That'd be too easy, right?

[Shrug.]

You can't bring folks back from the dead with a couple of well-placed words. Still, who can blame me for trying? As long as I'm here, I might as well fix some of my screw-ups along the way.

[Their changing surroundings catch his attention, and he peers up, fascinated. The roofs remind him of a snowless Kanbalar, but the sheer height and volume of the buildings make his pulse pick up with a deeper familiarity.]

Now this is a city.

[arclightning]

[ So his mom is probably dead, then.

Mako lets out a little huff of a breath, bites down on a smile that rises unbidden. It's not the nicest part of Republic City by any means—Dragon Flats is a close-crowded slum of a place, criss-crossed with telegraph wires. Waving clotheslines stretch between apartments leaning on each other for structural integrity, and away in the distance rises the actual skyline, the glittering towers of downtown. The sun winks off something gold in the farther distance still. Mako's heart twists all at once. The air here smells like frying garlic and chili oil and trash and seawater, and childen hang out windows and dart out of the dark mouths of alleyways, shrieking with what might be laughter.

It smells like home.

The light of the spirit portal is notably absent, as are any vines.

Definitely not good. He thinks about Alvin's probably-dead mother and his stomach sours. ]

This city is why you can't trust anything this place throws at you. Welcome to Republic City.

[returncoat]

Huh? Why?

[He rubs the back of his head, looking around. Sure, this is clearly the wrong side of the tracks, as far as that goes, but Alvin revels in it: the busyness, the smells, the vibrancy only cities ever foster, the vibrancy only cities had, in his dying world.

He gives Mako an uncertain glance.]

Is there something wrong here I'm missing?

I -A

[expertonshutters]

[The figure approaching Alvin is a masked man in a wacky bug helmet. Of course, Alvin my recognize him by the red scarf around his neck or if this thread takes place after visiting Hayato's arch, that's up to you.]

[If not, the man jogs just up to Alvin and pulls off his helmet, to reveal Hayato underneath. His expression is concerned, to say the least.]

I didn't. I take it you didn't, either?

[returncoat]

[Whether he recognizes the signature scarf or not, Alvin does seem relieved to see Hayato's face beneath the helmet. Perhaps it's because--]

It's hard to make anything out in this fog.

[He adjusts his own scarf as though it's a necktie come askew.]

The dark is one thing, I'm used to that. Even the mood lighting feels like a place I used to live. But this-- [He waves a hand through the still-gently scudding fog.] --isn't exactly ideal for anyone who relies on their eyes to fight, and I'm a gunslinger before anything else.

[expertonshutters]

[Hayato quickly shakes his head.]

I can see pretty well in the dark, and even then, I couldn't make out anything. What's worse is I couldn't hear anything from it either. Like it was some kind of phantom.

[Both of those senses were particularly sharp for him, so that was extremely worrying. Hayato points down the street some.]

I tailed it from a few streets back, but it was fast.

[returncoat]

...Well, it's not as though ghosts would be weird for this city.

[Y'know. Shit's eerie. There were zombies. Even the Raccoon Room is haunted.]

Any chance it's just for atmosphere?

[expertonshutters]

No, definitely not.

[He has a friend who's house is packed to the brim with ghosts. Weirdo.]

In this place? [He shakes his head.] I doubt we would be that lucky. I'm going to try and see if I can pick its trail back up from above. Would you mind running the ground?

[returncoat]

Yeah, no problem. You know how to use the Omni as a light if you need one?

[#LittlePseudomillennialThings]